Rapid Cycling: The Land of Confusion
Bipolar, Mental Health, Relationships, Support | Rich Wallace | October 12, 2009 at 8:48 AM
My wife was diagnosed as being afflicted with Bipolar Disorder Type II with Ultra Rapid Cycling a number of years ago. Based on my own research of the different types of bipolar disorder and the most common symptoms, it became more and more visible that we were not dealing with the ordinary disorder that most of the articles and blogs touch on.
Typical sufferers of bipolar disorder exhibit episodes in a potentially cycling pattern, where they may experience a manic (“high”) for a number of days, weeks, months or even years before the next cycle hits and takes them into a depressive state (“low”) which again, may last for an extended period of time.
The “official” definition of rapid-cycling states that the individual must exhibit a cycle of four or more distinct episodes of mania/depression in a single year. However, this “switch” between the poles may also occur without a period of stabilized mood occurs more frequently.
To offer some deeper understanding, there is also a level of rapid-cycling that may be labeled as, “continuous” cycling, which means that there is rarely, if ever, a period of normal mood between cycles: you cycle directly from one mood state into another with no normal mood. But again, these episodes may be long, short, mixed, with added features of panic, anxiety, etc.
We also have ultra-rapid cycling and further yet, ultra-ultra-rapid or ultradian cycling. Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia on ultradian cycling in bipolar disorder:
Ultradian states in bipolar disorder cycle much faster than rapid cycling, which is defined as four or more mood episodes in one year, sometimes occurring within a few weeks. Ultradian mood cycling is characterized by cycles shorter than 24 hours.
It is extremely important that we, as supporters and our loved ones as well, understand the differences and stay on top of the potential daily changes in order to provide a plan of attack when such cycles materialize.
The Supporter’s View
Supporting an ultradian cycler can be extremely taxing, emotionally draining and exhausting as during such a cycle, you may witness such an array of emotions from your loved one, that you simply cannot keep up and end up becoming confused yourself. There have been days where my wife will wake up and find me in my home office and will be in a wonderful mood wishing me a good morning with the biggest bear hug she can give me, and in a matter of minutes, switch over to a dark mood and run back to the bed, hiding under the covers not wanting to face the world. In that same day, she’ll come out a few hours later, showered, refreshed and ready to take on anything that comes her way. She recently posted on her blog about how her ultradian cycling affects her and covered in detail, a single day that included such an example.
Bipolar sufferers experience a kind of pain that non-sufferers can only imagine, yet, our loved ones feel so alone and out of touch that they will sometimes try to show us their own pain by hurting us (the supporters) in a way to relieve themselves and try to make others understand. When rapid-cycling is involved, the change over from one emotion to the next is unpredictable and if you are trying to follow your loved one’s pattern and expect it to stay the course, you will be left in a stupor trying to figure out what just happened and how.
Before you go, please consider subscribing to TheBipolarSpouse.com's informative newsletter or keep up to date with current posts by using our RSS Feed or subscribe to new posts via email.
Related posts:
- Supporting Bipolar Rapid Cycling Playing the supporting role in a...
- Happiness In Disguise One of the most common, but...
Tweet This
Digg This
Save to delicious
Stumble it
So true about trying to figure out all their mood swings and what will set them off.
Hi Sallyo, Thanks for checking in! You're absolutely correct, judging and trying to "predict" what's coming next is difficult. Once you can attune yourself to the triggers your loved one may experieince, you can layout a proactive plan of counter-attack that can take the edge off a little bit, and even that helps tremendously. Thanks again for commenting and take care!
Four or more mood episodes in one year? How about one DAY? I can certainly relate. I did a Dr J/Dr. H switcheroo myself this weekend. Fortunately my spouse knows the drill and refused to be pushed away. That is, after staying away long enough to give me some space. That unconditional love is the one bright spot, the one constant in a roller-coaster life. Sounds like you two have an understanding about the disorder and how to cope with it. Good luck with it and thanks for sharing. Marco
http://bipolarized.wordpress.com
Hi Dante! Good to hear from others experiencing this and also how important it is to have effective and knowledgeable supporters. It's terrifying to know that there are many sufferers out there that either do not share enough information to gain the right support, or others are just not willing to offer that unconditional love and understanding to be there. Hang in there and good luck!
Thanks for this one yet again Rich… I can have days where I go back and forth so many times that I just want to be knocked out with an RX until it's over… and I am sure Carl, my hubby, feels the same way. LOL It is sooooooo difficult for both side of the spousal relationship with ultradian cycling. I happy, now I'm sad, not I hate you and the world, now I feel guilty and shameful and depressed, now I love everything so much I can't even express it, now I hate myself and have no self-worth, now I am putting on lipstick because I feel sexy, now I feel numb… how hard is that to deal with?? Geesh. But you know what? We deal and we deal quite well now-a-days thanks to education, awareness, and constant hard work with many moments of total exhaustion and feeling like giving up. Once you stop working on the relationship (and bipolar in this case) , the relationship stops working altogether. Work work work… rest rest rest. That is our life now, in cycles of course.
Thank you for stopping by BB! The positive side is that you can Carl can identify and pro-actively prepare for the cycles. Every bit helps!
My husband is bipolar with no health insurance and has been relying on our family doctor for medications. He has not had a job in almost 5 years. I also was laid off and am going to college online, started by own real estate business after getting my real estate license. My father, who I adored, died during these five years. We lost our home to foreclosure and I spent all of my IRA trying to save our home and keep up with living expenses while establishing my business. My oldest daughter has been in an abusive relationship (better now) and my youngest is 19, going to nursing school, and having a baby in February.
My husband cycles so often and I am exhausted in trying to figure out triggers and constantly convincing myself that it's not my fault, though I am often told just about everything is my fault. The quote "When he is good, he is very very good and when he is bad, he is horrid" is the best way I know to explain this life. I am at a loss and very very exhausted. So tired of not knowing who I am going to wake up with. Thank you for giving me a place to vent.
Thank you for sharing, Joan. I'm so sorry about the difficult challenges that have endured and continue to battle. Being on the receiving end of such cycles are indeed difficult, but if you can both realize that this is a battle you can BOTH fight together, it may open up some new doors and make it a little easier. When you are told everything is your fault, constantly remind yourself that it is the illness making such claims, not your husband…he is only the mask being used by the illness. Again, thank you for visiting and glad to have offered some positivity!